New York, Sep 11 (IANS) Several global press freedom groups and human rights organisations on Friday wrote to Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, raising alarm over the rapidly deteriorating press freedom climate in Pakistan and warning that mounting restrictions and crackdown on journalists are undermining independent reporting in the country.
“In recent months, journalists in Pakistan have disappeared, faced detention and criminal investigations, been blocked from reporting in certain parts of the country, and lost jobs due to government and law enforcement agencies’ pressure. These developments have further eroded the ability of Pakistani journalists to report freely and safely,” the organisations wrote in a letter addressed to the Pakistani Prime Minister.
The signatories described the escalating use of Pakistan’s Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act, 2016 (PECA), and investigations by the National Cyber Crime Investigation Agency (NCCIA) against journalists for reporting on matters of public interest as alarming.
Expressing grave concern, they noted that Pakistani authorities have restricted reporting in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) and imposed internet and telecommunications blackouts, while also taking regulatory action against broadcasters. They further flagged “draconian” Foreign Media Facilitation Guidelines 2026 requiring journalists working for international media outlets to obtain prior authorisation before reporting outside the three main cities — Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi.
“Maintaining public order and national security, and preventing the spread of alleged false information, must not become open-ended grounds for suppressing public-interest reporting,” the signatories stated.
The organisations called on the government of Pakistan to release detained Pakistani journalists Razi Tahir and Muhammad Saif.
“Tahir and Saif, independent journalists who publish through Tahir’s popular social media channels, were seized and taken to an undisclosed location on August 1. Islamabad police have not acknowledged the journalists’ detention and their whereabouts remain unknown. The circumstances of their disappearance raise serious due process concerns, and authorities must ensure the journalists have access to legal counsel and contact with their families,” they stated.
The signatories urged the government to conduct an independent investigation into the circumstances of their disappearance, hold to account all those responsible for unlawful detentions, and ensure all journalists’ rights to due process are respected.
They further called on the Pakistani authorities to withdraw the recently issued Foreign Media Facilitation Guidelines, 2026 and stop using PECA and NCCIA investigations to criminalise journalism.
–IANS
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